Salina Art Center was recently awarded the Excellence in Graphic Design Award from the Kansas Museums Association.
The work by Abby Crawford, in-house graphic artist for the Art Center, was created as part of "Birdwatchers" a summer exhibition by artist Fidencio Fifield-Perez."
Abby creates beautiful work. Her materials are vehicles to share information with our audiences both in-person and online. From hand-stitching books to designing the title graphic by hand, Abby did a superb job of respecting the artist, celebrating his work, and creating a well-branded exhibition." Misty Serene, executive director, Salina Art Center.
Fidencio Fifield-Perez creates art that reflects his experience as a Latino immigrant in America. His mixed-media art is inspired by everyday life and examines borders, edges, and the people who must traverse them. When planning the exhibition, the Art Center commissioned an essay by Ruslana Lichtzier. Together, Ruslana and Fidencio developed the Birdwatchers exhibition title. Abby developed an identity for the exhibition and surrounding programming that would connect, engage, inform, and challenge audiences while respecting and celebrating the talents of the artist and writer. In one of her early Zoom meetings with Fidencio, Abby was able to explore his work through images and listen to what he said about each. After that meeting, Abby developed the base “Birdwatchers” title designed with a handmade font. In that one small design element, Abby mimicked elements present in Fidencio’s own drawings and weavings. From there, she continued to design a series of digital and print materials branded with a unique style very connected to the artist’s work. She used envelope motifs, weaving patterns, and color schemes that complemented the work in the gallery and created a social media presence that was easily identifiable as “Birdwatchers.”
The highlight of her design skill for this exhibition was a limited-edition exhibition guide. The guide was presented in a branded manila envelope, a nod to Fidencio’s “dacaments.” The 24-page guide was hand-stitched and included images of work in the exhibition. The guide also contained a full version of the essay by Ruslana Lichtzier, artist bios, exhibition statement from Gretchen Boyum, and funding recognitions. All print materials for the exhibition were printed in both English and Spanish.